Literature and literacy belong together. Children need to read rich texts and be immersed in good books of all genres so they can experience the joy of reading. The current push to allow emerging readers to read nothing but decodable texts doesn’t allow children to know the beauty of language. We want them to do more than decode; we want them to get lost in books and explore how they can communicate with and through a good story.
Here is a quick idea to get started:
- Engage the class in a read aloud with phonics with Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson. Before reading, do a 3-minute review of the vce pattern and write the words “came,” “hole,” and “brave” on a Smartboard. Have students volunteer to highlight the vce parts of each word while the class brainstorms for words that rhyme with these words. This list can be used for word sorts later. Have students write each word on a separate card. Read the story to the class, stopping when you read “came,” “hole,” and “brave” to note where they are in the story and how they fit into the sentences. Point out that each word is important because the owls live in a hole, they had to be brave while their mother was gone, and she came back to them in the end. Reread the story and have students hold up the corresponding card when you come to the selected words. Finally, have students draw a picture of the owls’ home (a hole in the tree), how they looked when they were being brave, and how they looked when their mother came home. They can use these pictures to retell the story either aloud or in writing as a summary activity.
- Note: if the children notice the word “come” and wonder why it doesn’t have a long /o/ sound, this will be a good opportunity to talk about “rebel” words that go by their own rules.
Please add some of YOUR ideas in the blog. Teachers are their own sources of professional development!